A great number of electric outboard motors are in common use for propelling boats, particularly fishing boats. Such motors have the great advantage of being quiet and highly maneuverable, even when mounted on large boats, and for these reasons, are often used as auxiliary motors on fishing boats. Generally, fishing boats use a large gasoline powered engine mounted on the rear of the boat for moving the boat greater distances and/or at relatively high speeds. But such motors internal combustion engines are relatively noisy, and because of their size have reduced maneuverability when the boat is simply to be moved slowly and/or for short distances, or quietly while the user is fishing.
Such fishing boats typically have an electric auxiliary motor which is used while the boaters are fishing. These electric motors are frequently mounted by being clamped onto the transom of the boat and operable by a person sitting in the rear of the boat, or by a special mounting bracket secured on the bow of the boat and operable by a fisherman using the front fishing platform of the boat. In either case, the electric motor has a support shaft which is essentially vertically disposed with respect to the surface of the water, and an electric motor mounted on one end of the shaft. The motor is generally at right angles to the support shaft, and the support shaft houses electric wires for powering the motor. A propeller is mounted on one end of the motor shaft.
The support shaft is commonly secured to a mounting bracket which is attached to a suitable surface on the boat, such as a deck surface or the transom. When in the vertical, operational position, the support shaft is allowed to rotate in the housing in order that the thrust of the motor may be directed in the desired direction for steering the boat.
Generally, the steering is accomplished either by a foot operated pedal connected to a rack and pinion connection by a cable which causes rotation of the supporting shaft, or else is rotated by hand by means of a suitable handle extending orthogonally to the shaft, so that movement of the handle from side to side (actually an arcuate movement) causes rotation of the shaft for changing the direction of thrust and steering the boat.
A number of different bracket systems have been developed and marketed for attaching the motor to the boat, and these brackets usually are required to permit the electric motor to be retracted into the boat when the motor is not in use, or lowered into the water for use. Generally, in the operational position, the supporting shaft is vertical, i.e. perpendicular to the water surface, while in the stowed position, the supporting shaft is horizontal or parallel to the water surface.
The simplest of such brackets simply utilize a pivot pin arrangement which allows the motor supporting shaft to pivot between its vertical position, with the electric motor in the water in an operational or use position, and a horizontal or stowed position, with the electric motor out of the water. Such brackets require an additional adjustment, in order to allow the motor to be positioned at a proper depth in the water when in use, and to be fully retracted into the boat when not in use.
More sophisticated brackets utilize a parallelogram type of linkage to connect the motor supporting shaft with the boat mounted bracket, and lock the shaft securely in place in either of the two positions. Such brackets, while still permitting adjustment of the depth of the motor in the water, do not require the adjustment after each use, but enable a better lowering and raising of the motor between the two positions.
A few prior brackets have provided a motorized raising and lowering of the motor between the operational position and the stowed position. For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,461 issued to Brock provided such a bracket which uses an additional electric motor driving a cable and pulley system to move the outboard motor between the stowed position and the working position.
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,670 issued to Peters provided another powered arrangement for raising and lowering the electric outboard, and had a separate electric motor driving a worm gear in engagement with a follower attached to the motor mounting shaft for raising and lowering the electric outboard.
In both of these prior systems, however, the operating elements, i.e. the cable and pulley of Brock or the worm and follower of Peters, are relatively large and bulky, and most of the elements are open and exposed. They are therefor likely to become tangled with fishing equipment, line or weeds, and also may be readily damaged by hard objects such as lures or equipment which become entangled therein, and prematurely worn by rain, sunlight, and other weather factors.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,734,066 to Burgess and 4,668,195 to Smith also use auxiliary motors to raise and lower the trolling motors, but only operate to raise the trolling motor in a purely vertical sense. In other words, there is no pivoting of the motor mounting shaft. Such arrangements would require significant modification of the boat for general use, and thus are not generally suited for accessory market trolling morots.
For a variety of reasons, none of the prior art motors which provided for a powered raising or lowering of the trolling motor has met with significant success. These prior art systems have been susceptible of malfunction or damage during use, thus decreasing the reliability of the mounting system. Since reliability is a very important factor in trolling motors, a very dependable system is needed in order for the bracket to achieve significant success in the field. Electric trolling motor mounting brackets are subject to very significant forces during normal use, including severe bouncing during high speed travel in a stowed position, as well as impact with underwater objects during use in an operating position.
Accordingly a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting system for electric trolling motors.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting system which enables a powered stowing or deploying of the trolling motor between a horizontal or stowed position and a vertical operating position.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting system in which the electric trolling motor is pivoted between a horizontal stowed position and a vertical operating position by means of a closed motor and gearing arrangement.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting system for electric trolling motors which overcomes the disadvantages of prior art mounts.